I love lamb. Love, love, love lamb. I also happen to love pasta. And red sauces. And fresh herbs. And cheese. So, this was the perfect dish.
First, start by making your own marinara. You can always use a bottle version, but what fun is that?
Start with a mirepoix with garlic. Here we have one large onion, two carrots, 2 celery stalks, and 3 cloves garlic. You need to chop them very finely, or you can throw it in a food processor like I did. Throw it in a pan with 1/4 cup olive oil. Sautee until soft.
Next up is the tomatoes. I used the rest of the canned tomatoes from this summer. If you don’t have that, you can use about 32 ounces of crushed canned tomatoes.
Also, add the other stuff. Salt, pepper, sugar, oregano, basil, and bay leafs to taste.
Cook for an hour to two hours. How ever much time you have. Remove from pan.
Now that you have a marinara sauce, you start with the actual dish.
At about this time, have your husband make a raspberry mojito with raspberries from last summer.
First, start by sauteing two shallots and 3 cloves garlic in a bit of olive oil.
After it is soft, add a pound or so of ground lamb.
Brown the lamb.
Add a cup of red wine and reduce by half.
Add four cups of the marinara sauce. Let it all cook together for 10 minutes or so.
When your noodles, which you already started, are about done, add in 1/2 cup torn mint and 1/2 cup ricotta.
After they are stirred in, add in your full pound of rigatoni, which you have cooked.
Stir all together and serve immediately.
This is one of the best things I have ever made. It is very, very good. If you have the time an a weekend I highly suggest taking the time to make this.
The day before Meatless Monday is Meatfull Sunday, I guess.
Last night I made a boneless leg of lamb with a berbere rub.
Served medium rare.
I also made a really great rice dish. 
Basmati rice with dill and pistachios. It turned out really good.
CJ really liked this dish, I liked it a lot too. The recipe came from Cooking Light, which I have newly subscribed to. The lamb was very tender and the bean mixture was tangy and tasty. Unfortunately it takes 3 hours to make, mostly inactive time, but not a weeknight meal.
Here you go Dean, a completely vegan (and virtually fat free) dinner.
Saute 3 cloves of garlic and a small onion in a teeny bit of olive oil (I used the spray kind) until tender. Add in juice of a lemon, a chopped large tomato, and a can of chickpeas. Cook until the tomatoes breakdown a bit and give you a sauce, 3-5 minutes. Throw a whole lot of Kale on top (maybe 4-5 cups, chopped) and let wilt. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with two tiny, juicy, succulent lamb chops and a piece of rye bread.